Hand-protector for automobile-drivers.



D. G. WHITE.t

HAND PROTECTOR FoRAuT'oMoBlLE DRIVERS.

APPLICATION FILED` JAN. 8, 1917-v A 1,251,313. Patented 11012.25, 1917,

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specification of Lett-ers raient.'

, Application led January 8, 1917. Serial N'o.` 141,135; .Y i Y To all @cham 'lady/'concern `Be itv known that I, DoGLAs nGr. i/VHIrE', a subject AofthehKing of 'Great Britain,re

,siding at Chicago, countyof Cook, andState of. Illinois, have, invented `'certai 1 1,new;,and

useful. Improvements .in Handi-*Protectors for Automobile-Drivers,.of' which t he -fol-.l

lowing is aspe'cification Y Itis a.' fact well. kno'wnfito .automobile drivers that when `driving in .cold'iweather, I

. 4inv'enti'oniis lto -increasethe c-omfortfand pleasure of; 'cold .weather driving rby proriding a protector for Athe drivers hands which fwill effectnally 'shield them from. the wind andalso pre"venti-the"windlfrom.,blow-l ing upf the" drivers sleeves, thereby. maintaining the Vhands in warm'and comfortable condition,` evenfin extremely cold temperatures" 'l N .c 17; .f 'A .L iththis .end in view-I have providedk a protector whichcan be easily and' quickly att'achedltola Qsteeringiavh'eel when its uselisVV desirable/and can alsopbe readily removed and stored away inaveryV small space when its use is unnecessary. y y

Affili-ther@ objectY of "my invention is, to provide a protector of the character indicated which will not interfere with the movements of the drivers hands in steering the car, which will not obstruct his observation of the position of the throttle and spark levers on the steering post, which will cover not only the drivers hands but also the forearms, so as to preclude the wind from blowing up his sleeves, and also provide a protector which will be of simple construction, cheap to manufacture and which will be eicient and durable in use.

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of my invention I have illustrated on the accompanying drawings one practical and preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, my invention and many of lts attendant adn vantages should be readily understood. f Referring to the drawings- Figure l is a side view of a steering wheel f' equipped with my invention;

1F ige. A2 1s a top view 'lookingfalong the'.

axisgofl the steering post;

Fig. 3 is a bottom view looking acrossthe axis of the steering post; and

-Fig @L is a sectional view takenl on the line.

of Fig. 3.

g On the'drawings reference character v5 indicates a steering wheel of an'yxwell'known formv supported in the u'sual'manner upon thesteering post G." The drivers hands inf their customary position when driving are indicated by reference character 7.

The protector itself consists of a covering which may be made of any suitable flexible material, such as woven" or 'knitted cloth,

felt,leather, rubber'cloth, fur, or otherpreferred material. vThis covering'. is'. shaped preferably by cutting-.and sewing Vinto sub:Y stantially' conical-form, so. as "tojpr'ovfi'de a Circular top 8 of approximately thediameter i ofpthes'teering wheel, and-the sides orv bottoniQ.V The lower end oftheprotectoni's a preferably equipped with `aV .jointed eizpan;

sion ring l1 sewed-.into the materia-lf of the*` proteictonns shownin Fig. ethisring 'befr ingoffsuitable size to rathersnuglyleml a braceitlhe steering @post 6so-as toprevent the windifrom entering the protector l' along the post. Then the covering is made of heavy' material 'this ring maybe omittedn and the-opening which receives the steering post may be strengthened by hemming the material. The inclined portion 9 of the protector is open at one side from the ring 11 to the top portion 8 in order to permit the protector to be readily slipped into position over the steering wheel, and when positioned as shown in Fig. 1, this open side is closed by detachable fastening devices 12, such as buttons, glove fasteners or the like.

It will be observed that the protector overlies the top face of the wheel and extends downwardly along the steering post so that the wheel is entirely surrounded and inclosed by the protector. In order to afford access to the steering wheel the top portion 8 is provided with a pair of hand-openings 13 through which the drivers hands may be inserted so that the wheel may be grasped for 'Patented Deo. 25,

lco

prevent the wind from blowing up his sleeves.

In order to provide for unobstructed ob-` servation of the spark and throttle levers, which are usually mounted on'the steering post just beneath or above the steering wheel, the top 8 is provided with a transparent window 15, which niay be made of mica, celluloid or the like, so that these le vers may be visible when the protector is being used.

Vhen the use of this protector is desired it may be quickly positioned by simply slipping it over the wheel and buttoning up the open side, and when in use the driver can readilyinsert his hands into the protector, within the cuffs, and through the hand openings, and can also readily withdraw them whenever occasion requires. The protector aEords ample protection for the drivers hands and wrists, shields them from the wind and maintains them in a warm and comfortable condition without in any way interi'fering` with the turning of the wheel or with the movements of the hands in steering the car. Vhen not in use the protector may be rolled up into small space and carried in the car.

It is believed that my invention and many of its attendant advantages will be readily appreciated from the foregoing without further description, but it should be obvious that the structural details are capable ofl considerable modification and variation withvention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A protector comprising a covering shaped to loosely surround and entirely inclose a steering wheel, the top of said protector being provided with openings disposed within the perimeter of the covering through which a drivers hands may be inserted into said protector.

2. A protector comprising a covering of flexible material shaped to entirely inclose a steering wheel, the top of said protector being provided above the wheel with substantially radially disposed hand openings and cuiis'adjacen't to said openings into which the drivers hands may be inserted.

3. A protector comprising a flexible conical covering shaped to receive and loosely surround laV steering wheel, the, top of said protector being providedY with hand openings and cus extending outwardly there` from into-which a drivers hands may be inserted, and also provided with a transparent window through which the throttle and spark levers may be observed by the driver.

el. A protector comprising a steering wheel aiidfleXible covering of substantially conical shape adapted to loosely it :over a steering post, the top of' said protector being pro-4 vided within the perimeter of the wheel with hand openings, cuifs'secured to said protector in lproximity to said openings, and means forvdetachably securing Asaid protector in position.

5. A protector comprising a conical shaped covering adapted'to completely surround and inclose a steeringwheel and a portion ofV a ing being provided Vwith a pair of transversely extending substantially radially disposed .hand-receiving openings, and cuffs secured to said top .infront of and at the sides of said openings and extending rearwardly Copies ot this patent may he obtained for ve cents each, by addressing thev Commissioner of Intenta,

Washlngtomrn. C.

steering post, the circular top of said cover-` 

